” I think I was the worst player in the NBA.”. It is by this formula that Joel Embiid summed up his first half on the floor of the Heat. Under the eyes of Shaquille O’Neal, invited by Pat Riley, and dominated by the amazing Omer Yurtseven, the Cameroonian finished this first half with a 3 out of 11 in shots and a 1 out of 4 in free throws. A small elbow injury, and being back-to-back didn’t explain everything.
And then, in the second period, like a boxer who finds his superb, he displayed his level of Player Of The Month and he walked on the Heat’s racket with 25 points at 9 out of 11 on shots!
“It’s just him…and that’s what really great players do. We didn’t do anything… We gave him the ball in the same places, he was comfortable. He knows the places he wants to take his shots, and Joel is like that reacts Doc Rivers.
“He showed the extent of all his talent”
For more than a month, Joel Embiid has been walking on his opponents, and tonight there was a “steamroller” side. As if he had increased in power over the minutes to better knock out the Heat in the last quarter.
“Tonight, he showed the extent of all his talent” recognizes Erik Spoelstra. ” He has this ability to play against the circle, and he showed a lot of quality, especially in this 4th quarter.“
For the person concerned, only aggressiveness makes it possible to compensate for the blows of less well.
” It was impossible to play worse than in the first half. Like I said, I was arguably the worst player in the NBA in that first half, and I couldn’t have played worse. All I had to do was stay aggressive. I had missed a few easy shots in the first half. There were free throws too, it had been a long time since I had shot like that. Of course, my elbow isn’t the best, but we have to get over it, and we went for the win.“
It is precisely the 9th victory in 10 matches for the Sixers, who have come back on the heels of the best teams on the East Coast. Without Matisse Thybulle, nor Danny Green on Saturday evening. And of course Ben Simmons.
| Joel Embiid | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2016-17 | PHL | 31 | 25 | 46.6 | 36.7 | 78.3 | 2.0 | 5.9 | 7.8 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 20.2 |
| 2017-18 | PHL | 63 | 30 | 48.3 | 30.8 | 76.9 | 2.3 | 8.7 | 11.0 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 3.7 | 1.8 | 22.9 |
| 2018-19 | PHL | 64 | 34 | 48.4 | 30.0 | 80.4 | 2.5 | 11.1 | 13.6 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 27.5 |
| 2019-20 | PHL | 51 | 30 | 47.7 | 33.1 | 80.7 | 2.8 | 8.9 | 11.6 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 23.0 |
| 2020-21 | PHL | 51 | 31 | 51.3 | 37.7 | 85.9 | 2.2 | 8.4 | 10.6 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 28.5 |
| 2021-22 | PHL | 29 | 33 | 48.2 | 38.3 | 80.9 | 1.9 | 8.6 | 10.5 | 4.3 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 3.0 | 1.4 | 27.1 |
| Total | 289 | 31 | 48.6 | 33.4 | 80.8 | 2.3 | 8.9 | 11.2 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 25.1 | |
